Category Archives: Greens

When we lived in Chicago, one of our favorite weekend traditions in the winter was going to see a movie and then eating at La Creperie. The restaurant was cozy and warm and the food was delicious. This dish brought us back there. 🙂

This wonderful dinner was also reminiscent of the mushroom crêpes that my Mother-in-Law serves on Christmas Eve as part of a traditional multi-course Ukrainian feast. I loved that this version incorporated roasted wild mushrooms- it made them rich with mushroom flavor. Incorporating an egg made them hearty enough to serve for dinner. (This dish really could be served any meal of the day.)

This recipe was adapted from a Food and Wine “staff favorite” recipe contributed by Twin Cities chef Thomas Boemer. I increased the garlic and modified the proportions and method. We ate them with roasted asparagus on the side. Perfect!

Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet or crêpe pan over moderate heat; brush with melted butter or oil. (I did 2 pans at once.)

Add about 1/4 cup of the batter, about one-sixth, swirling to coat the pan evenly. Cook until lightly browned on bottom, about 2 minutes.

Using a spatula, flip crêpe; reduce heat to moderately low.

Arrange aboutone-sixth of the remaining mushroom sauce in a ring on crêpe, about 4 large spoonfuls, and immediately crack 1 egg in center of ring. Lift the ring and allow the egg white to spread around the crêpe.

Cook until egg white is set and yolk is still runny, about 3 minutes.

Top with a few mesclun leaves. Drizzle with one-sixth of the roasted mushroom filling, mushroom sauce, and garnish with thyme, salt, and pepper. Transfer to a plate.

The plus side (supposedly!) of the original recipe for this dish from Martha Stewart was that it was a vegetarian casserole without cheese. After seeing an adaptation on Kirkley Crossing, I added fresh mozzarella. Cheese makes everything better! I added fresh spinach too.

I made the polenta but did use jarred marinara as a shortcut. We enjoyed it with a green salad. Cheesy vegetarian casseroles are perfect comfort food in cold weather!

Yield: Serves 6

For the Polenta:

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1/4 to 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup polenta or coarse yellow cornmeal (not quick cooking)

Mix one cup of liquid with the cornmeal and stir. This prevents the cornmeal from lumping when added to the boiling liquid.

Bring the remaining stock to a boil in a 3 or 4 quart sauce pot and add the salt and pepper.

To the boiling stock, pour the cornmeal slurry in a steady stream, stirring constantly until completely added.

Simmer over low heat, stirring often, until done, about 30 to 40 minutes. When done, polenta will pull away from the sides of the pot and will be soft in texture.

Remove the pot from the heat and finish as desired. Adjust the consistency with additional stock or water, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

This dish was the first-runner up for Valentine’s Day dinner. It was a Valentine’s Day bonus that I made it in addition to our celebratory biscuit-topped Chicken Pot Pie. Right? Why choose when you can have both? 🙂

This recipe was adapted from The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook by Jim Lahey. I increased the amount of vegetables, modified the baking temperature, and incorporated the garlic used to make the garlic oil. We could eat some sort of cheesy, veggie pasta every night of the week. Great!

Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the flour is a light butterscotch color, about 2 minutes.

Add the milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking continuously to keep lumps from forming.

Continue to whisk and cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens and has the consistency of heavy cream.

Pour the sauce into a bowl to cool.

To Finish the Dish:

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil, add the salt, and cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente.

Drain the pasta well and spread it out over the surface of a rimmed baking sheet.

Heat the oven to 475, preferably on convection.

Steam the chard and asparagus for 4 minutes, or until tender. Lightly season with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat, add the garlic, and cook for a minute or so, until it begins to sizzle. Lower the heat and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the garlic is lightly browned. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Brush the inside of a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with some of the garlic oil.

In the pot that was used to cook the pasta, combine the cooled pasta, the garlic oil (including the garlic, if desired), the béchamel, half of the grated cheese, the steamed asparagus and chard. Stir until well incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and top with remaining cheese.

My husband is not partial to brothy soups. Making this one required some convincing, but I was able to win him over by the inclusion of pasta and potatoes. By the way, he loved it. 🙂

This wonderful soup recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by David Tanis. I increased the onions, garlic, and kale, and added fresh lemon juice. I also used my homemade turkey stock. We ate it with a green salad, of course, and sliced sourdough baguette. It was surprisingly filling! Absolutely delicious too.

In a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add onion, carrot and fennel, stir, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened and golden, 5 to 10 minutes. Adjust the heat to prevent vegetables from browning or scorching.

Stir in bay leaf, thyme sprig, garlic, paprika tomato paste, and parmesan rind (if using), and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth, potatoes and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a brisk simmer. Cook until potatoes are cooked through but still firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Stir in kale and pasta and simmer another 10 minutes, or until greens are well cooked and pasta is done. (Soup can be made up to this point, without the pasta, cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

Add the fresh lemon juice and stir to incorporate.

Ladle soup into bowls, and sprinkle with chopped rosemary and Parmesan. Drizzle each serving with a teaspoon of olive oil, if desired. Pass extra Parmesan at the table.

So, this dish uses broccoli rabe instead of broccoli- but I’m still including it in my “series.” 🙂 This is a skillet version of one of my favorite classic Italian dishes. It was delightfully cheesy too.

This recipe was adapted from Bon Appetit, contributed by Claire Saffitz. I used large garlic cloves and decreased the broiling time to 2 minutes. We ate it with a large green salad. Absolutely delicious!!

Remove sausage from casings and add to skillet. Break into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook, undisturbed, until sausage is browned, about 4 minutes. Stir a couple of times and continue to cook, undisturbed again, until sausage is fully cooked through, about 3 minutes longer.

Stir in half-and-half and simmer until sauce is thickened slightly, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low.

Gradually add about two-thirds of cheese, bit by bit, stirring constantly and letting cheese melt completely before adding more, until sauce is smooth and thick, about 3 minutes; season with salt and remove from heat.

This hearty vegetarian main course casserole would be a lovely option to serve vegetarian guests during the holidays. We ate it as a cozy winter meal with roasted broccoli and green salad.

The puréed beans add creaminess to the filling. After reading comments about this recipe online, I was apprehensive to include all of the bean liquid required in the original recipe because others had complained that the final consistency was mushy. I only used half of a cup but next time I would include 1 cup or even additional liquid (noted below).

This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Melissa Clark. I substituted celery for fennel, added a chipotle chile, used mixed baby greens, and reduced the breadcrumbs, beans, liquid, and baking time. It was the ultimate dish to utilize my brand new giant 14-inch skillet. Yay! The vegetables could be cooked in batches if using a smaller pan, of course.

Taste broth; if bland, season to taste with salt. In a medium pot, bring broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in rice, lower heat, cover and simmer until just tender, about 1 hour, or according to package directions. Fluff rice with a fork, cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté vegetables: In a large, heavy skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until brown and crispy, about 8 to 10 minutes. (If using a smaller pan, cook in batches, adding oil if necessary.)

Adjust heat as needed to prevent burning. Transfer cooked mushrooms to a plate and sprinkle lightly with salt.

In the empty skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Stir in leeks, fennel/celery and 1 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, until soft but not browned, about 8 minutes.

In a blender, purée 2 cans beans with 1/2 cup to 1 cup of the reserved liquid, chipotle, lemon juice, 1 grated garlic clove, and salt to taste. (I used a Vitamix.)

Stir bean purée, remaining whole beans (drained), mushrooms, cilantro, parsley and cooked wild rice into skillet with vegetables. Taste and add more salt or lemon as needed; it should be well seasoned. Add additional bean liquid, if necessary, in order to achieve desired consistency. Scrape into prepared baking dish.

Sprinkle evenly on top of casserole and bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Note: To make part of this recipe in advance, assemble casserole and prepare topping (separately) up to 24 hours ahead. Refrigerate, covered, in separate containers. Just before baking, spread breadcrumb topping evenly over the casserole. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until heated through and topping is golden, another 20 to 30 minutes.

This is a cheesy and delicious vegetarian comfort food dish. The pie was inspired by roadside diner spaghetti sandwiches in New Zealand! 🙂

This recipe was adapted from Food and Wine, contributed by Gail Simmons. I increased the amount of garlic and spinach and modified the baking time for a convection oven. I used a combination of cremini and shiitake mushrooms. Wonderful.

Preheat the oven to 425°, preferably on convection. Tightly wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with foil and brush the inside with butter or spray with cooking oil.

In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the spaghetti until barely al dente; drain.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until sizzling, about 1 minute.

Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Scrape into a bowl.

In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Incorporate all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.